Each Saturday before Christmas there will be something happening on the Market Place in Abingdon. 15 December will see a Nativity Themed Day, and 22 December owls and a giftwrapping Service. Yesterday was the annual Christmas Craft Fair.
At the Craft Fair there were a lot of stalls, and a number of performances from bands and singing groups. The Abingdon Passion choir gave, possibly, their first public performance and sounded very good.
Stonehill House is in the neighbouring parish of Drayton, but with a fence that runs along the south of Abingdon. There was an open day today, with a chance to view the extensive grounds and hear how the current owner would like to see them developed.
One of the guides taking us round said it was an excellent place to watch badgers, bats and deer, and there is a fine wild flower meadow. The sites of the badger sets were very clear to see.
The field separating the grounds of Stonehill House from Abingdon is the one that a developer is currently looking to build 160 houses. That would effectively mean that there would no longer be fields between houses in Abingdon and Drayton.
The owners have plans to create a community garden, and area of wildlife conservation on this site. A representative from the Bridewell Organic Gardens charity near Witney spoke about how they would like to develop a therapeutic gardening project at Stonehill House – for people who have experienced mental ill-health difficulties.
There will be another Open Day, about May next year, to allow more local people to find out more about all the plans for the grounds of Stonehill House.
The flood water of the River Thames has receded, and one boat has been left high and dry near Abingdon Lock.
A tree has also become lodged on the top end of Nags Head island. Fields are still damp and muddy and the weekly Parkrun has been cancelled again this week. I will get a good picture when it resumes as there often lots of runners and it is an impressive sight.
It is always good to see the Christmas lights brightening up these cold and dark December evenings.
When they were last up, the bus stop at the top of Stert Street had been closed because the River Stert culvert beneath was causing worries. Work was undertaken in 2012 but not enough to allow the bus stop to re-open.
High Street has not changed greatly since the Christmas Lights shone in 2011 although there are new shops like ybuynu and OX14 Deli. The opening of Wetherspoon, in Abingdon’s former High Street post office, could have a more dramatic effect.
The Christmas lights were mostly replaced four or five years ago by Abingdon Town Council with low energy LEDs.
But some of the older generation lights remain, like the Nativity Scene at the top of West St Helen Street.